Know
by Daisy Hawkins
Summary: Mark/Lexie. Set after 5x24, Mark has to tell Lexie about John Doe.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: If I owned Mark Sloane do you really think I'd be online writing this?

Author's Note: I think I may have made Mark too nice here, but I think that in this situation he'd leave the smarmy comments at home and do what he could to help those around him. Also I just rewatched that ending scene and I'm not sure that Sloane was in the OR with George, but I think it would've made sense with George's face being banged up so much. So just pretend he was for the sake of the story. haha. Anyway, this is my first stab at Grey's Anatomy fanfiction so let me know what you think.

Mark Sloane, the man who always knew what to do, was at an utter loss as he listened to Owen Hunt's cracked voice announce George O'Malley's time of death.

He watched as his best friend pried Meredith Grey off of O'Malley's body, sobs wracking her body. His other best friend, George's ex-wife, was crying herself – a fact that scared Sloane more than the sounds of Meredith's sobs. Owen Hunt, a grown man who had seen and experienced firsthand the atrocities of war, seemed on the brink of tears himself. All Mark knew was that he wanted to get the hell out of that OR.

He stepped out into the hallway and ripped off his scrub cap and gloves. He rubbed his face tiredly. When he removed his hand, he saw Lexie standing at the nurses' station down the hall writing in a chart. He knew then what he had to do. He had to go tell Lexie.

He strode down the hallway and stepped up next to her. Lexie glanced up at him and rolled her eyes. "What, do you have more houses to show me that you're going to buy without me?"

"Lexie," Mark started, his voice hoarse.

Hearing this, she immediately looked up with a furrowed brow. "What's wrong?"

"I have to tell you something."

"Okay," she said cautiously, scanning his face for any indication of what was going on.

"Come on," he said softly. He grabbed her elbow and led her to an empty on-call room.

"Okay you're starting to scare me. What's wrong, Mark?" Lexie asked as he shut and locked the door behind them.

He motioned for her to sit on the bed, and once she did he knelt down in front of her. "We just took John Doe into emergency surgery. He didn't make it."

Lexie frowned and ran her hand through Mark's hair in a comforting gesture. "That's awful. But why are you making such a big deal about telling me this?"

Mark looked down at the floor. "Because, he's not just John Doe." He looked up into her eyes. "It was George O'Malley."

Tears instantly sprang to her eyes as she shook her head furiously. "No, no, that's not possible. How could that be George? No."

Mark swallowed thickly and took her hands into his own. "He enlisted in the army, and when he told the Chief, he gave George the day off to spend with his mother before shipping off. I guess he was on his way home when…"

The unspoken words hung in the air and Lexie let out a strangled sob. Mark squeezed her hands. "Somehow, he told Meredith that it was him, but by the time we got him into surgery again… We did everything we could but there was just too much damage."

Mark brought himself up and held her tight against him as she cried. Mark had never been one to comfort crying women. Especially not a woman crying over another man. But this was Lexie, and he knew that he'd do just about anything to make sure she never had any reason to cry like this again.

After awhile, Lexie leaned out of his embrace and wiped her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Mark. I know you hate crying women. And I'm crying on your shoulder about a guy I used to have a crush on! God, I'm the worst girlfriend ever."

Mark resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her rambling. "Don't be ridiculous, Lexie. I'm always here for you. You know that."

Lexie smiled a watery smile and leaned up to kiss him. "You really are a better woman than I am."

Mark frowned at that, but decided now was not a time to start an argument. "Let's get out of here."

"But my shift doesn't end for another three hours."

Mark shrugged. "Screw it. I'm sure the Chief will understand. He'll probably be sending a lot of people home instead of having them practice medicine while they're distracted by… all this." Lexie nodded and they stood. "I'll meet you outside the locker room in ten minutes," he said, leaning down to give her a quick kiss.

Ten minutes later, Lexie emerged from the intern's locker room dressed and ready to leave. Mark put his arm around her shoulders. They headed for the elevators, but were stopped by the chief's voice. "Sloane! Grey!"

Mark cursed under his breath as they turned to face him. "Chief," he acknowledged with a curt nod.

The Chief took in their somber appearance and Lexie's red-rimmed eyes and sighed sadly. "So I see you two already heard."

Mark looked at him, confused. "I was there, sir."

The Chief looked back at him with an equal look of confusion. "No you weren't."

"I was in the OR when it happened, Chief. You can check the paperwork if you like," Mark answered apprehensively, unsure of where this conversation was going.

"The OR? I was referring to Stevens, what are you referring to?"

Mark didn't have to look over at Lexie to know that fresh tears were forming in her eyes. "Izzie? She… she died?"

The Chief merely nodded, unable to verbally confirm Lexie's statement. Mark could tell that the Chief hadn't been updated on the John Doe situation. He turned to Lexie and handed her his keys. "Do you mind pulling the car around front? I'll be out as soon as I can," he said softly. Lexie wordlessly took the keys. He kissed her temple and she headed for the elevators.

The Chief watched Lexie's retreating back and turned to Mark. "If you two hadn't heard about Stevens yet, then what's Grey so torn up about?"

"Sir, can we speak in your office for a moment?" Mark asked.

"Sure."

The two men proceeded to the glass-walled office in silence. The Chief could tell from Mark's tired eyes and tight jaw that he wouldn't be getting any answers until they were behind closed doors. Once the Chief was seated at his desk and Mark across from him, the Chief asked, "What's going on?"

Mark fidgeted in his seat. He had never enjoyed this part of the job, the relaying the bad news part of the job. He preferred handing a mirror to a patient and seeing their reaction to seeing their own face for the first time. He did not enjoy delivering this kind of news.

"The John Doe patient that was hit by a bus? We lost him," Mark started.

The Chief nodded slowly. "His injuries were very extensive. We knew this outcome was more than likely."

Mark ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Before we took him into surgery again, he communicated with Grey. Big Grey. Meredith." The Chief nodded. "John Doe was George O'Malley, sir," he blurted out. The Chief looked shell shocked, and Mark could tell he was on the verge of getting emotional. "Dr. Hunt called the time of death." The Chief seemed to choke on the air he was breathing at the word death. "He could probably give you a more detailed report of what happened." The Chief nodded, trying to process this new information. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get going. Lex, I mean Dr. Grey was close with O'Malley, they used to be roommates, and I think it's best if she go home now."

"Of course. We all need a little time to process all of this. I don't want any patients getting improper care because the staff is too distracted by… recent events to work properly." Mark nodded and headed for the door. As he was turning the handle, the Chief said, "Mark? Thank you for taking the time to tell me."

Mark nodded before slipping out the door. He went to the front entrance of the hospital, where Lexie was waiting for him in the car. She had left it on but had moved to the passenger seat. Mark got into the driver's seat and buckled his seatbelt. "You okay?"

"Yes. I mean, no. I mean, I don't know. Can we just go? To the hotel," she added quickly. "Not to Meredith's. I don't think I can deal with all that right now. I just want to be with you."

Mark grabbed her hand and brushed a kiss along her knuckles. "Of course," he whispered. He held her hand the entire drive to the hotel.

Once they got up to his room, Lexie collapsed in exhaustion onto his bed. Mark kneeled down and took off her shoes before taking off his own shoes and jacket and joining her. Lexie watched him do all of this, and asked him, "Why are you being so amazing right now?"

Mark mustered up the best smirk he could given the circumstances as he laid down next to her and pulled her to him. "I'm always amazing, Lex," he replied and kissed her deeply.

Lexie smiled and stroked his cheek with her thumb. "I'm serious. Earlier today you were mad at me, and now you're taking care of me. What happened?"

"You know what happened," he said softly. "You know if I could do anything to make this better for you I would."

Lexie smiled sadly. "But you can't. It's just… life is so short, you know?"

"It is," he agreed. "Which is why I don't want to wait ten years to move in with you."

Lexie sat up and groaned. "Really? We're going to have this conversation now?"

Mark sat up as well. "You're the one that just said that life is short! And you want to spend the next 10 years of it crammed up in Meredith's attic instead of living with me?"

Lexie hopped off the bed and started pacing. "What does it even matter? We both work like ninety hours a week."

"Exactly," Mark said. "We're almost always at the hospital. Wouldn't it be easier if we were coming home to the same place to have really great sex and pass out for a few hours before our next shift?"

Lexie rolled her eyes. "We spend nearly every night together already."

"Exactly!" Mark exclaimed. "If you just stop pacing and move in with me, everything would be a lot easier."

Lexie stopped pacing and instead stood a few feet away from him with her hand on her hip. "Don't mock my pacing. You're making me nervous."

"You're making me nervous!" Mark countered. His tone grew softer as he continued. "Lex, if today's shown us anything, it's that life is short. One of us could get cancer, or I could get hit by a bus."

Lexie immediately frowned and walked across the room to stand between his legs. "No! If you see a bus coming at me, you have to promise me that you'll just let it hit me. Do not push me out of the way and get hit yourself, Mark Sloane," she demanded.

Mark looked at her disbelievingly. "Lexie, please."

"I'm serious!" she shouted. "Promise me." She held our her pinky, waiting for him to pinky swear his promise.

He instead looped his arms around her waist. "This conversation has taken a very morbid turn," he teased.

"Mark."

Mark rolled his eyes and took one of his arms out from behind her back. "I promise," he said as he linked pinkies with her. She quickly grabbed his other hand and pulled it out from behind her.

"You were crossing your fingers!"

Mark couldn't help but laugh at how serious she was taking this. "Lexie, just move in with me. Please?"

Lexie's expression changed from one of annoyance to one of amusement in two seconds flat. "Are you begging me to move in with you?"

Mark looked at her sternly. "I did not beg, I simply said the word please."

"I'm pretty sure the word please is a key part of begging."

Mark frowned at her teasing. Lexie laughed and kissed him lightly. "I'm not yet sold on the idea, but I'll think about it."

Mark looked up at her. Even though she was laughing and smiling, he could still see the sadness of George and Izzie in her eyes. "Fine. Let's get some sleep. I'm exhausted."

Mark simply fell back onto the bed, pulling Lexie with him. He waited until he heard her deep even breathing indicating that she had fallen asleep before he let himself fall asleep himself. He shut his eyes tight to block out the image of George's flatline, Meredith's crumbled body as she sobbed, Callie's face near tears, the Chief as he found out he had lost not one but two good doctors that day, and most of all, Lexie's small frame as she shook with silent sobs on the way back to the hotel.

It was a lot to not think about.


	2. Chapter 2

Lexie Grey, the girl with the photographic memory, wished for the first time in her life that she didn't remember every detail of what she saw. Because her photographic memory kept bringing her back to John Doe, to George's swollen face and broken bones. She should've known, she should've recognized him the second she saw his eyes. She had claimed to adore him at one time, hadn't she? Wouldn't a girl who adored George O'Malley recognize his eyes?

Lexie isn't sure what difference it would've made if she had recognized George as John Doe. Would they have worked harder to save him? The ethical side of her said no, of course not. All patients who come through those ER doors are treated with the same amount of care. But the more emotional side of her said yes, a room full of doctors who loved George would've tried anything, no matter how drastic, just to keep his heart beating. That thought alone makes Lexie feel sick.

Lexie shook her head, willing the thought to go away. She burrowed her face into Mark's chest, which was rising and falling evenly in his sleep. He smelled like cologne and the soap in the scrub room and something that was distinctly Mark Sloan. Mark could complain all he wanted about where they slept at night and whether she kept her clothes in Meredith's attic or in his hotel room or in a condo that they shared, but Lexie knew that "Mark Sloan" smell was all the home she needed.

She lifted her head from his shirt to look at his face. She could tell from his expression that he was having a bad dream. Lexie reached up and began stroking his hair, because she knew that even though he would never admit it, the repetitive action did sooth him just like it soothed her. But even that wasn't enough to make the unpleasant look on his face go away, so she kissed him on the cheek and whispered, "Mark?"

He grunted in response, but she could tell that he was still asleep. She let her hand drift down towards the front of his pants as she moved her mouth by his ear. "Mark," she said softly. He made another soft sound, but he was still not fully awake. Lexie bit his earlobe just as her fingers undid the button on the front of his pants. His eyes shot open at that.

"Lex," he groaned, turning towards her.

"You were having a bad dream," she whispered as she kissed him alone his jawline.

"Well I'm sure as hell not having a bad dream now," he replied, sliding his hands up and down her sides as he leaned forward to capture her lips with his own.

After Lexie had finished properly waking him up, they crawled under the covers together. Mark pulled her close to him and ran his fingers absentmindedly up and down her spine. She shivered and cuddled further into his muscular frame. "What time is it?" Mark mumbled into Lexie's hair.

"Early," she replied sheepishly. "Sorry, I know you don't get many chances to sleep in but-"

"Lex, you can wake me up anytime you want as long as you do it like that." Even with her face buried in his shoulder he could tell she was blushing.

He dropped a kiss into her hair as she continued. "I just couldn't sleep. I kept seeing… God, I don't even want to talk about it." After a moment she added, "And you really were having a bad dream. I could tell."

Mark sighed. "A lot of things happened yesterday that I don't want to relive. But you can't control what creeps up into your dreams, can you?"

Lexie shook her head against his chest as her hand drew lazy circles across his stomach. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Mark's pager went off. He groaned and lifted his head up to look for his pants. "How did you get my pants all the way over there?"

Lexie blushed and flashed him an innocent smile. "Not sure."

Mark laughed and moved across the room to dig through his pockets for his pager. He read it and frowned. "It's Callie."

Lexie didn't need him to elaborate. "Go."

"Are you sure?" Mark asked.

"Yeah, of course."

Mark began to gather up his clothes and get dressed while Lexie watched him from the bed. When he caught her staring, he smirked at her. Lexie giggled softly and stood up to put her own clothes on.

Mark stepped up behind her as she was sliding her jeans on and kissed her in the spot where her neck and shoulder met. "I think I'm going to go into the hospital after I take care of Callie. Are you gonna be okay?"

Lexie turned to face him and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Yeah. I'm gonna go stop by Meredith's to see how everyone's doing and then I'll probably go into work myself. I'll see you there?"

"Definitely," Mark replied, leaning down to kiss her. "Do you want me to give you a ride to Meredith's?"

"No, that's okay. I'll just take a cab. Go take care of Callie."

Mark nodded and gave her one last kiss before he grabbed his coat and walked out the door. Lexie was reminded of a time when George had left the room and she had said into the empty space, "I adore you." Adore didn't seem like nearly a strong enough word to describe her feelings for Mark Sloan, though. But that wasn't a issue she wanted to deal with today, so she shook her head and went downstairs to hail a cab.

Twenty minutes later, she stepped out of the cab in front of Meredith's childhood home. The sun was just barely peaking out from above the horizon, but Lexie knew that no one would be asleep inside.

Even though Lexie lived in the attic, she felt like she should knock as she approached the front door. Two of Meredith's closest friends had died yesterday, and she was sure the house was filled with mourning doctors. She resisted the urge, however, and instead quietly slipped her key into the front lock and slid inside. She had barely entered the house when she noticed Derek and Owen in the living room. They were both silently nursing a beer, and from their glazed expression Lexie guessed that they had been doing so all night long.

Derek noticed her standing in the doorway between the living room and the hall and smalled softly at her. "Hey Lexie." He glanced at his watch and frowned. "You weren't at the hospital all this time, were you?"

Lexie shook her head. "No, I spent the night at Mark's hotel room. I wanted to give Meredith some space, and I figured Christina would be here too, so…"

"You didn't have to do that. You live here, you know you're always welcome."

Lexie smiled slightly. "I know."

Derek scanned the hall behind her. "Where is Mark, anyway?"

"He's with Callie," she explained quickly. The two men nodded in understanding. "Anyway, I just wanted to stop by and see if you guys needed anything. Anything at all."

Owen smiled up at her sadly. "That's very nice of you, Dr. Grey. But I don't think there's anything anyone can do."

Lexie felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes at the truth in that statement and fought them off furiously. "I know, but I still wanted to offer. Are Meredith and Christina here?"

Derek nodded. "They're upstairs. In the bathroom."

Lexie decided not to ask why and simply nodded and went up the stairs. As she was going up, she heard Dr. Hunt say, "She lives here too? Is there anyone on staff who doesn't have a key to this place?"

"She's Meredith's sister, that's different," Derek replied. After a moment he added, "But no, pretty much everyone at Seattle Grace comes in and out of here at all hours of the night."

Lexie smiled at that as she made her way down the hall, but her smile quickly faded as she peered inside the bathroom. Lexie faintly recalled a story George told her about the night that Izzie's fiancé, Denny Duquette, had died. After Alex had finally convinced her to come home, she had refused to change her clothes and simply laid on this very bathroom floor, completely miserable. George told her how they had all filtered in and out, laying there with her and trying to convince her to get up.

Which was probably why Lexie found Meredith and Christina laying on the floor, still in their scrubs. Meredith's still had some of George's blood on it. Neither of them looked up at her so she sighed and laid down next to Meredith. "Hey guys."

Meredith turned on her back so that she could shift her gaze between Lexie and Christina. "Hey, Lexie. Where have you been?"

"Oh, I spent the night at Mark's hotel room. I thought you guys might like a little space given… you know… everything."

"You didn't have to do that, Lexie," Meredith said.

"Actually, you're lucky you came when you did," Christina interjected. "Karev has been screaming and breaking everything in his room. He only shut up a few minutes ago. I guess he finally passed out."

"Christina! He just lost his wife. He's allowed to be upset," Meredith scolded.

Christina rolled her eyes. "We all loved Izzie. And George. But all that screaming wasn't helping anything."

"He's grieving. We all grieve in different ways," Lexie said gently.

"Yeah well you clearly grieve by getting some," Christina mumbled.

"Hey!" Lexie said as she sat up, offended. "You know I cared about George. And Izzie. And like I said before, we all grieve in different ways. You're each other's person, and Mark is my person."

Meredith laid a hand on Lexie's arm before she could get too worked up. "It's okay, Christina was just joking. But that was quite the defensive mode you sprang to, Little Grey."

"Mark is a good guy, the best guy in my book, and he's better for more than just sex, you know?" Lexie said, laying back down.

Before she could continue, Meredith laughed. Lexie looked at her, confused at the sound given the circumstances. "You love him!" Meredith exclaimed. "You do, don't you?" Lexie blushed and looked away from her sister. "Have you told him yet? Oh boy, what did mighty man whore Mark Sloan say to that?"

"He's not a man whore," Lexie instinctively replied. "And no, I haven't told him."

"Tell him," Christina said. "If what happened yesterday taught us anything, it's that you need to tell the people you love that you love them. Tell them a lot. Even if it is McSteamy."

Lexie rolled her eyes. "I can't. It's complicated. It's… Mark Sloan."

"Meredith is way darker and twistier than Sloan, and she and Derek are in love," Christina reasoned.

"Hey!" Meredith said, slapping Christina's arm.

"Ow! Come on, it's true though."

Meredith sighed. "Yeah, okay. She's right though, Lex, if you love him you should tell him."

"I'll think about it," she conceded. They fell into a silence and Lexie decided to leave them alone with their thoughts. "Well, I just wanted to stop by and see if you guys were okay before I went into the hospital. Not really to see if you're okay. I know you're not okay. It's just… is there anything I can do for you guys?"

Meredith smiled slightly at her sister. Despite herself, Meredith had become fond of Lexie's little rambling spells. "No, I don't think so."

"Okay, well if you change my mind, just page me. And believe me I will be over here lickity split, for whatever you need. Either of you. You know, you're both my superiors so I'll just be like 'Oh, the boss needs me.' Seriously."

"Lickity split?" Meredith repeated with a smirk.

Christina, however, just rolled her eyes. "Just go save some lives for us, Little Grey."

Lexie nodded and slipped back downstairs. She went into the kitchen and grabbed some Chinese take out that she had saved from a few nights ago. She heated it up in the microwave and grabbed two beers from the fridge. Lexie then walked out into the living room and placed the take out and the beers on the coffee table.

"The beers are for you two," she explained, taking their nearly empty bottles from their hands. "Warm beer isn't good for you. And eat half the Chinese, whether you want to or not, and then take the other half up to Meredith and Christina and make them eat it whether they want to or not. There's some other leftovers in the fridge and you need to make some for Alex the second he comes out of his room." Derek couldn't help but smirk at Lexie's suddenly authoritative behavior. He wondered if Mark really know what he had gotten himself into. "And I already told Meredith and Christina, but I'm telling you both as well – page me if you need anything. Seriously."

Owen leaned forward to grab a plate of rice for himself. "Thank you, Dr. Grey."

"I'll have to remember to take strays in more often if they're going to provide beer and days old Chinese take-out like this," Derek joked.

Lexie just rolled her eyes and left them to their stale breakfast.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: I'm sorry for the HUGE delay in the update. I unfortunately can't make any promises to be more prompt in the future… but if you're willing to wait awhile and read anyway, then please do! Reviews are awesome.

Mark Sloane, the man who was completely inexperienced at comforting women (unless sex was involved of course), awkwardly put his arm around Callie Torres as she cried into her drink. Joe sent him a grateful look across the bar. Judging from the wet tearstains on Joe's shoulder, he had done a fair share of comforting before Mark arrived.

Callie didn't even have to open her eyes to realize the strong man in the leather jacket with his arm around her was Mark. Unfortunately his presence seemed only fuel her crying fit. "I wished her dead, Mark! And I'll always love George, in some way. And now they're both…"

Unable to finish her sentence, she began to cry even harder as she leaned into Mark's jacket. Idly, Mark thought of how it was a good thing that he had worn a fabric that would stand up to water without causing stains. His mind switched back to Callie however as her crying persisted. He ran a hand up and down her back, shushing her. "It'll be okay, Torres."

Callie calmed down after a few moments, left with nothing but a few hiccups. "No it won't," she said bitterly, grabbing at her drink. She took a healthy swig and continued, "They're dead. That can't be undone. That can't be made okay. You and I know better than anyone that once that time of death is called, it's over."

"I didn't mean it'll be okay as in George and Izzie will magically come back to life despite scientific facts. I meant it'll be okay as in you'll get through this, just like everyone else at Seattle Grace will."

Callie shook her head, looking at a watermark on the bar sadly. "Just getting through something doesn't make it okay."

"Well it's all we can do, now isn't it?" Mark said gently.

Callie looked up at him and nodded her head slowly. Mark gently pried her drink out of her hand. "I think maybe you've had enough for tonight? Or should I say this morning? Joe, why are you still open at six in the morning?"

Joe shrugged as he picked up Callie's glass. "I never really closed the bar last night. All these doctors were in here grieving over George and Izzie, who were two of my favorite customers by the way. I didn't have the heart to kick any of them out so I let a couple of them stay a little while past closing. Dr. Torres here was my last hold out."

"Well I'll get her out of your hair. Come on, Torres, I'll take you home."

Torres didn't respond but simply let mark lead her out of the bar and to his car. As Mark drove the short distance between Joe's bar and Callie's apartment, he couldn't help but think how nice it would be the next time he got to drive someone somewhere who wasn't doing their best and failing miserably at holding back sobs. Mark led her upstairs and she silently unlocked the door and stepped inside. She turned around to face Mark.

"I think I'll be okay from here. Sorry you had to come pick me up."

"It's okay, I was already up," Mark replied.

Callie shook her head. "Morning sex. You kids…"

Mark smiled and rolled his eyes. "Go get some sleep, Torres."

"Go save some lives, Sloan." With that, she closed the door and Mark went back down to his car for another short commute between Callie's apartment and the hospital. Once inside, he stopped at the coffee cart to get two coffees and an apple. He then headed over to the third floor nurses station where he (predictably) found Lexie catching up on some chart work. "Hey."

Lexie looked up and smiled that smile of hers that made Mark happy he was alive. "Hey!" She then looked shyly down at the coffees he was holding. "Is one of those for me?" she asked, biting her lip in mock nervousness.

Mark rolled his eyes. "Of course," he replied, extending one to her which she gratefully took. He then dropped the paper bag containing the apple on top of her chart. "This is for you too. I figured you were too busy worrying about everyone else today to remember to eat breakfast."

Lexie gave him another smile and peeked inside the bag. "I would kiss you right now if we weren't standing literally in the middle of the hospital."

Mark leaned into her. "I give you permission to kiss me anywhere you want, Lexie Grey."

Lexie took this opportunity to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you, Dr. Sloan."

Still leaning into her, he murmured, "Someone's formal today."

"You two are disgusting!" someone shouted from behind them, causing them to leap apart. Mark was glad he hadn't changed into his scrubs yet because he spilled half his coffee all over himself in the process. He turned to yell at whoever it was that had interrupted them, but stopped himself when he saw who it was.

Alex Karev was fully dressed in his scrubs despite the fact that his eyes were still bloodshot from crying. And he looked absolutely pissed. "Don't either of you have any shame?" he asked, nearly shaking in anger. "My wife died last night, and now I have to come into work and see the two of you all happy and alive? What the hell is wrong with you two?"

"Should you really be working today?" Lexie asked timidly from behind Mark.

"I am your superior, Dr. Grey. You do not get to question my decisions," he answered.

"Karev, go home. Sleep it off."

"Sleep it off? Sloan, you have no idea what you're talking about. The woman I love is dead. She died right here in this hospital. That's not something I can just sleep off."

"I know that, but-"

"Forget it. I have rounds." And with that, Karev spun on his heel and walked in the opposite direction.

Mark turned to look at Lexie who had a nervous look on her face. "Um, Mark," she started slowly. "I think you're going to have to take care of Alex."

Mark's eyes widened. "What? No way. A hostile Karev is not something I want to deal with right now."

Lexie fiddled with her apple nervously. "I know that, but the chief isn't here, Dr. Shepard isn't here, Dr. Torres isn't here, Dr. Bailey isn't here, Dr. Robbins just got a call from Dr. Torres so I bet she's gone by now…"

"So you're saying right now, I'm the person with the most authority in this hospital right now?"

"Yes," Lexie answered plainly.

Mark sighed and turned to find Alex Karev. As he walked towards the post-op ward, he felt an interminable dread building in the pit of his stomach. When he had competed with the other attendings for chief of surgery, he had only done so because of the thrill of competition. He had never for a second wanted any kind of responsibility like this. And yet here he was, still an attending, trudging after a heartbroken resident to send him home.

"Karev, go home. You're not needed here today," Mark said as nicely as he could muster when he finally found Karev looking through a chart.

Alex snapped the chart shut and looked up at Sloan with defiance in his eyes. "I'm not needed today? Do you want me to list off all the doctors who aren't here today? You need every pair of hands you can get."

Mark sighed as he grew increasingly annoyed with the situation. "We need every capable pair of hands we can get, Karev. You look like you could use some sleep. Why don't you go home and get some?"

Karev shrugged arrogantly. "I've worked on less sleep before. I'll do fine."

Mark put a hand on Karev's chest as he tried to shove past him. "Karev, I'm not asking. You need to leave."

"What gives the great Mark Sloan, plastic surgeon god, the authority to give me any orders?"

"Because I'm the only one here, damnit!" he exclaimed, finally reaching the end of his fuse. "The chief isn't here. Huge chunks of the attendings and residents staffs aren't here either. And they're all not here because they're devastated over Stevens and O'Malley."

Karev rolled his eyes. "Who gives a crap about O'Malley? He always had a license to kill, just turns out yesterday he used it on himself."

Calmly and quietly, Mark said, "A lot of people at this hospital cared about O'Malley. And a lot of people cared about your wife too. And I think that if you took a second to think about what you're saying instead of just shooting your mouth off like you always do, you'd realize that if Stevens were still here, she'd be beside herself with grief over O'Malley using his license to kill on himself, as you so delicately put it."

"Don't you dare tell me what my wife would have felt," Alex said in a low and dangerous tone.

"Am I wrong?" Alex opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He snapped his mouth shut again. "That's what I thought. Now go home and get some sleep."

Mark began walking away until Alex's voice stopped him. "Fine, but can you get Dr. Shepard to stop? He and Dr. Hunt kept trying to force feed me stale Chinese take-out, saying that I had to eat something."

"I'll have a talk with Derek. Now go."

Mark made a beeline for his office. Once he got there he took out his cell phone and dialed speed dial 1.

"Hello?"

"Hey Derek."

"Oh hey, Mark. Lexie said that you were taking care of Callie. How did that go?"

"I got her to stop drinking and dropped her off at her apartment, so I guess it's a start. When did you talk to Lexie?"

"She came over here to check up on Meredith. And then she cooked, which for Lexie means she heated up Chinese take out."

Mark shook his head and smiled despite himself. That sounded just like Lexie. "Yeah, about that. Alex was just here-"

"What? He said that he was going out to get some breakfast that didn't include rice."

"Yeah well he lied. He was here. And I finally convinced him to go back home as long as I called you and made you stop trying to shove Kung Pao Chicken down his throat."

Derek sighed. "Fine. But he has to eat eventually."

"He's a doctor, Derek, he knows that a human body needs food."

"I don't think it's his top priority right now, Mark. I mean, I can't even imagine what he's going through. If that'd been Meredith…"

Mark felt like the bottom of his stomach dropped out just at the thought of how he would feel if it had been Lexie. "Yeah, man, I guess you're right." Eager to change the subject, Mark said, "Hey, you wouldn't be planning on coming into the hospital today, would you?"

"No." Derek drew out the word, waiting for Mark to get to why he asked him that question.

"Would you maybe want to?"

"No," Derek said again.

"Come on! Half the staff isn't here because they're all mourning Stevens and O'Malley. The chief isn't even here. Derek, I'm afraid that all the interns are going to start following me around in a huge herd," he whispered in the phone.

Derek laughed. "Fine. I'll try my best to come rescue you."

Mark let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you." Just then, there was a small knock on his door and Mark looked up to see Lexie standing at his doorway. He waved her in and said, "Listen, Mark, I gotta go."

"Okay. Be careful with all those crazy unsupervised interns running around," Derek joked.

"Oh ha ha, very funny. Bye." Mark shut his phone and turned his attention to Lexie. "What's up?"

Lexie shuffled nervously. "Some of the interns are getting a little antsy with so many of the residents gone. They don't know who to go to for daily assignments so…"

"So they're all standing out there in a giant herd?" Mark finished for her.

"Kind of, yeah. I tried to tell them that we should all just go about our business as we normally would, but they seem to want a second opinion. Apparently no one in my intern class has any independent decision making skills."

Mark ran a hand over his face. "Well, they'd probably just make a mess of everything anyway, so I guess it's a good thing they're all waiting for me to tell them what to do."

"So you'll come out there and handle this?" Lexie said doubtfully.

"Of course."

"Okay, good." Lexie turned around to leave his office, but Mark put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her. "What?"

Mark simply pulled her into his arms and held her. Each breath that he felt her breathe dissipated the horrible feeling in his stomach he had gotten ever since he had put himself in Karev's shoes and tried to think of how he'd feel if it had been Lexie in Izzie's place.

Lexie's voice interrupted Mark's thoughts. "Uh, Mark, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just fond of you," he said, flashing her that famous Mark Sloan smile.

Lexie rolled her eyes and stood on her tip toes to give him a quick peck on the lips. "I'm fond of you to. Now come on, let's go before Steve passes out from sheer panic."

Mark sighed and followed Lexie out the door, bracing himself for the dreadful day he knew he was going to have.


End file.
